Monsoon session of Parliament may be hybrid

New Delhi: The prospects of a routine session of Parliament have come under question with existing government buildings found inadequate to accommodate all members of Parliament if COVID-19 physical distancing norms are to be followed, according to highly-placed sources.

With neither the central hall of Parliament nor the Vigyan Bhawan plenary hall large enough to seat all the MPs while maintaining a minimum distance of one metre, the presiding officers of both Houses are learnt to have been exploring options of holding a 'hybrid' session of Parliament or a virtual one, the sources said. The hybrid session would allow some MPs to be present physically in Parliament with the remaining ones attending it virtually.

The sources said one of the options discussed is to enable attendance in the Chambers of both the Houses of only those many members who can be accommodated according to social distancing norms by drawing up lists of such members whose participation in various items of business is required on a daily basis.

Hybrid, virtual Parliament session could be on cards, say sources; some MPs to be present physically, while others will attend online.